Minor leaguers will tell you that one of the toughest parts of the ECHL or AHL are the long bus trips. Traveling overnight, from game to game, night after night for six months can wear on a person both physically and mentally. One of the great rewards for all the hard work and patience through the minor leagues is that the travel accommodations are usually a little better in the NHL.

Well, and the money’s pretty good too.

In a scene that must have looked more like a Slap Shot trailer than an NHL reality, the New Jersey Devils were reminded of their roots on Thursday afternoon—and then some. The team was forced to walk to Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia after the team bus broke down on the way to the arena.

“The bus broke down about two blocks away. The transmission went on it. We either had the option of waiting for a ride or walking and we chose to walk. So it was a nice warm-up for the game.

“A little team building. I felt like I was back in junior again.”

Luckily for the Devils, old-timers like Jason Arnott and Jaime Langenbrunner are no longer on the team.

Walking two blocks at the end of their short bus trip must have been the reason for their 2-1 loss in tonight’s game against the Flyers as well. Talk about a built in excuse. How would Pete DeBoer respond to one of his players if they dropped an excuse like, “I couldn’t finish in the 3rd period because I was exhausted from our walk this morning?” Perhaps the walk caused the Devils defense to lose track of Jaromir Jagr with 7 minutes left in the game when he snapped home the game-winning goal on the power play.

Good thing this fiasco happened during the preseason and not during the stretch run in March. What kind of team travels on a bus that can have a transmission go out? Most buses used by NHL teams look like they would cost more than a single-family home in the Hamptons. Who knew one of those monstrosities would ever have actual mechanical problems?

They say the preseason is all about learning experiences. In this case, we’ve learned that it’s all fun and games until you’re forced to walk two blocks in South Philly.

The good news is that Sidney Crosby is slated to join his team as they travel to Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary for the first three games of the 2011-12 season. The bad news is that it’s still extremely doubtful that he’ll play in any of the opening three games. That’s not really bad news—that’s more likely to fall under the “expected” news column.

“We’ll be starting with everybody going on the trip that’s part of our group that’s with us at that time. Unless their rehab needs to be at a facility that’s not part of the trip, they’ll be going on the trip with us. So I anticipate that to be the case for Sid.”

Even with the necessarily disclaimers, people are going to get excited that Crosby may appear during the first trip of the season. Don’t bet on it. Remember, the Pittsburgh captain has just started skating and still hasn’t been cleared for contact as of yet. The next step in the recovery process will be to show doctors and the training staff that he can go through multiple workouts without suffering any setbacks or feeling the side-effects from January’s concussion.

Crosby also admitted that even without the contact, he’s still understands that it’s going to take even more time before he gets back to the way he was feeling before the injury last season. He doesn’t sound like he expects to be at that point when the season opens next week:

“Everything seems to be coming slowly, but I think that each day all of that gets better and better. It’s tough. I’m kind of going based on December of last year and how I felt. I’m not going to get to that level this week.

“It’s just a matter of being realistic with how much you want to improve every day, but also paying attention to everything that’s important — so that transition is as smooth as possible.”

On the ice, the Penguins will depend on the players they still have on the roster to get the season started on the right foot. Evgeni Malkin is showing signs that he’s fully recovered from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last season. Behind Malkin, Jordan Staal would realistically be the #2 center on just about any team not named the Penguins. One of the big differences is that the depth on the team will suffer until Crosby makes a return and everyone can slide back into their normal roles.

Of course, the biggest difference is that they’re losing arguably the best player in the NHL. (Easy Caps fans, I said “arguably”)

Whether he plays sometime in October or has to continue to wait for the symptoms to subside, the good news is that Crosby hasn’t suffered any setbacks throughout training camp. In a recovery process that has seen its share of problems and uncertainty, no news is good news. Now, the only question is when he’ll be able to travel with the team and actually play with them as well.